Yesterday in our staff leadership team meeting before taking about an hour or so to pray on behalf of our church, lead pastor Ed Noble asked for us to share any Scripture verses that we have found helpful in our own lives in shaping and framing our times of prayer. I shared two Scripture passages that have been helpful to me and I hope will be encouragement to you as you seek the Lord in prayer.
The first is Ephesians 3:20,21 (ESV) Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Now this passage has helpful in my prayer life in this way. Often it feels as if my prayer times is a long list of requests which is not necessarily a bad thing, yet at times I believe I know when I have crossed the line of looking at God as the Almighty One, who can do all things versus Him being Santa Claus or a genie to fulfill my every desire. Yet what these verses challenge me to do is to ask even more and to ask more boldly. Often times the opposite is true of how we pray. The problem is not that we are asking too much, it is that we are not asking enough. To further clarify my thoughts here what the Ephesians passage shows me is that what I often ask God for falls vastly short of what He desires for me. Often I settle and pray for temporal means or desires, when in reality He desires for us to ask things of HIm that will render eternal, lasting and more meaningful & significant outcomes.
To put it simply ... We think we are asking God for some amazing things, we don't the half of it.
The second is Psalm 91:14-16 (NSRV) Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When theycall to me, I will answer them; I will be wiht them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
As we read this passage it is full of so many promises and this has been so important and helpful as I have prayed for myself and for others -- the reason being is that these verses remind me that the God I am praying to is for me. This notion that God is for me or us is often overlooked and it so critical that we don't. Because I believe we have all prayed prayers not having them answered the way we desired; or even sensed how God was leading us to pray. Yet if we can remember that God is for us, we can be at greater peace regarding the outcomes that He lays out for us.
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